Arsenal had achieved two consecutive victories in the Champions League group stage. Wenger was relieved to be able to beat Ajax in the away game.
As long as they got at least four points in the next game against Sparta Prague, Arsenal's qualification for the Champions League would be secured.
For Arsenal, who were short on players and had to avoid excessive physical exhaustion, it was necessary to reduce the consumption in the Champions League as much as possible in the first half of the season.
In the Premier League, they had already conquered Stamford Bridge and Anfield. Their only competitor was Manchester United. Arsenal needed to accumulate as much advantage in the Premier League as possible in the first half of the season because the intensity of the two competitions in the second half of the season would definitely be higher than in the first half of the season.
After three days of rest back in England, Arsenal welcomed the eighth round of the Premier League at home. Their opponent was Birmingham City.
"The eighth round of the Premier League is here as scheduled. The defending champions Arsenal have achieved an astonishing seven consecutive victories at the start of the new Premier League season. Vieira has begun to be forgotten by people and the fans are no longer worried about Arsenal's injury wave. The current Arsenal looks as strong as they were last season. The unanimous opinion of the Fleet Streetball commentators is that Arsenal's defense this season seems to be better than last season. It is not because their defensive players' individual strengths have greatly improved, but because Wenger has used the right tactics to greatly increase the team's margin for error.
Let's see which players will fight hard for victory at Highbury today.
Arsenal's starting 4-5-1.
Goalkeeper: Lehmann.
Defenders: Eboue, Touré, Senderos, Flamini.
Midfielders: Ljungberg, Fàbregas, Qin Xiong, Silva, Hleb.
Striker: Henry.
Ljungberg returned from his injury. Pirès was old and had just played in the Champions League in the middle of the week, so Wenger put him on the bench to wait for orders. Hleb rarely got a chance to play. This was a game for him to prove himself.
Birmingham's starting 4-5-1.
Goalkeeper: Taylor.
Defenders: Melchiot, Upson, Cunningham, Clapham.
Midfielders: Pennant, Butt, Izzet, Clemens, Gray.
Forward: Heskey.
The starting formation of the two teams is almost the same, but there will definitely be differences in attitude. Just like the advice given by many football pundits on Fleet Street to the Premier League teams: Go to Highbury and don't give Arsenal a chance to fight back. You should be the ones fighting back against Arsenal! "
The match began and Arsenal immediately launched a fierce offensive on their home ground.
Qin Xiong coordinated with Hleb in the midfield. Hleb's performance was much better than when he first arrived. He had found his position. He was no longer the core of Stuttgart. In Arsenal, he could not even be considered a main player. Naturally, he had to lower his stance and serve the main players.
Qin Xiong and he made a wonderful two-versus-one combination in the front field. After teasing Barthes, Qin Xiong suddenly changed the direction of the attack. He sent a diagonal pass to the ball, and Ljungberg, who had just recovered from his injury, ran into the penalty area as usual.
While the Gunners fans were looking forward to seeing Birmingham City crumble at the start of the match, Ljungberg stopped the ball wide!
He directly allowed the goalkeeper, Taylor, to confiscate the ball.
It was indeed a difficult pass to stop the ball, but when Ljungberg was in good condition, he would not stop the ball directly to the goalkeeper.
There was only one possibility: Ljungberg, who had just recovered from his injury, had not yet recovered.
This was also proven in the following match. Ljungberg's mistakes continued to increase.
Birmingham City's defense was very targeted today. Containing Qin Xiong was something that all the Premier League teams would do when they played against Arsenal.
They had three midfielders to suppress Qin Xiong. Izzet was responsible for the transition between offense and defense. He was the Premier League's assist king two years ago and naturally had the passing skills to tear apart the opponent's defensive line.
Hleb's breakthroughs from the flanks lacked a change in rhythm. He could not be like Pires, who could bypass the opponent and pass the ball well.
He could only do one of the two.
He could either bypass the opponent or pass the ball. The combination of the two was somewhat difficult for him, who had not completely adapted to the Premier League.
As a result, Arsenal's offense encountered great difficulties.
There was a problem with Ljungberg's attack from the flanks. Hleb's role was not obvious enough.
Fàbregas logically came up to assist and shared the pressure from Qin Xiong in the middle. However, the defensive strength of Barthes and Clemens was still obvious to all. They were very effective in switching targets flexibly.
The match fell into a stalemate after ten minutes.
Qin Xiong did not have the space to break through, and his teammates' small team cooperation was not very good. Perhaps continuous matches were also a test for Fàbregas's condition. After all, it was his first season as the main force.
When the situation was unexpected, Qin Xiong noticed a small problem in Birmingham's counterattack.
The right flank attacker, Pennant, was very active and a little selfish. He seemed aggressive, but he was too independent. He always wanted to stir up trouble in Arsenal's defensive zone.
He had a stubbornness that outsiders could not understand.
Of course he was stubborn!
He was abandoned by Arsenal!
This player from Notts County transferred to Arsenal at the age of 16 and became one of Wenger's talented seedlings. Then six years later, he was abandoned by Arsenal in the summer and permanently transferred to the Birmingham Football Club!
Like many English players, he was not easy to deal with. More than half a year ago, he was jailed for a month for drunk driving. After his parole, he had to wear an electronic tracker in games. This was a scandal that happened to him. However, he never thought that this was the reason why Arsenal abandoned him. It was because Wenger did not give him enough trust!
In the summer when Qin Xiong arrived, Pennant returned from his loan at Leeds United. He made a bold statement: "I am Arsenal's biggest" acquisition "in the summer!"
However, when Qin Xiong gradually established his position as the main force, in the first half of the 0405 season, Pennant only made seven substitute appearances, which added up to less than three complete games.
How could he calmly accept the fact that he was kicked out by Arsenal?
Pennant, who used his individual ability to attack Arsenal's defensive line once he got the ball, seemed to have a wild desire for revenge!
It's not that I can't do it!
It's that you don't trust me at all!
I want you to watch me destroy Arsenal!
I want you to regret it!
With a crazy obsession, Pennant's vengeful anger was undoubtedly revealed in the first half of the game.
In the 21st minute of the game, Pennant's long shot from outside finally hit Arsenal's goal, but the threat was not big at all. Lehmann easily held the football in his arms.
Qin Xiong, who was in the midfield, walked to Hleb's side and whispered to him.
Then he retreated to the backfield to provide support and took the initiative to run to Silva's side and said the same thing.
"Encircle and suppress Pennant!"
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